Buckle up, Vice-pals, we’re accelerating into the curve and
drifting right through the best in animated, automotive excellence! From racing
to chasing, these are the finest, most full-throttle, heart-pounding, tire-squealing, white knuckle anime ever.

The list just wouldn’t be complete without this classic. Ask
your parents, they’ll remember it - - and probably offer to sing the entire
theme song to you. This was one of the shows that introduced a generation to
these cartoons we like so much, and it’s actually not hard to see why it was
such a hit.

SPEED RACER is undeniably dated, in animation and style, but
the designs hold up surprisingly well! The over-the-top cartoony TWISTED METAL-style cars-with-weapons angle is still fun, and the bright colors and zany cast still endured in their appeal. Watch it again on Hulu - - you'll be surprised by how much kick is still left in this dinosaur.

This one may have gone by unnoticed by most/all of you, but
YUA is an appealing little police drama from the 90's, brought to us by the man
responsible for AH MY GODDESS. It’s not high art, oh no, but this slickly animated OVA
has all the car porn that auto-nerds demand, as well as some really great
chase scenes for the rest of us (not to mention likable characters and a
great, reserved palette).

This succeeds by not aiming to unseat the kings of the
genre. It's content to tell a nice approachable story about two new pals/room mates
who also happen to bust some badguys. It might not be as loud or explosive as other entries in the genre - - or
this list - - but you’ll find YUA sneaks into your heart fairly quickly. Instead
of the usual shonen posturing and engine-flexing, the show focuses
on creating a world you like to spend time in - - and, of course, make the
necessary tire squeals and hairpin turns in.

If you’re a fan of Kōsuke Fujishima’s work or animated
driving sequences, then you’ll easily find a lot to like in this overlooked
gem. Maybe play it safe and stick to the original OVA for starters, though.

We’ve talked about Bean Bandit and his exploits on the TOP 5
before, so it should be no surprise that he’s barreled his way to the number 3
spot on this week’s list. RIDING BEAN is one of the best examples of the
“wild-man days of the OVA,” and the kind of antics that came with those times.
It’s absurd and silly, and crass, but also totally endearing and undeniably
entertaining.

There's a specificity to the car-fetishism in this OVA is typical
of Kenichi Sonoda, and that should be appreciated by the serious auto enthusiasts
out there. His favorite, the Shelby Cobra, makes a lovingly- animated
appearance, though this masterpiece of manliness actually gives a lot of cars
(and, of course, guns) the love and attention we’ve all come to expect from Sonoda-san.

The show provides pretty much non-stop action of some
kind or other, and while much of it is utterly ridiculous (examples include
Kevlar headbands, magic sideways driving, hilarious soundtrack, bulletproof
cars/men) the whole thing feels studied, and believable, even at its most
far-fetched.

RIDING BEAN is a work of pure enthusiasm and love. If you
can’t appreciate that, you’re grizzled black heart probably can’t love
anything.

I’m sure you all saw this coming, but there was no way the
mighty D wasn’t going to make this list...

Remember how we said YOU’RE UNDER ARREST is mostly without
the usual shonen posturing and engine-reving? Well, INITIAL D is the exact
opposite. This is pure shonen fantasy at its best/most silly. There are 'power
levels' of sorts, lots of close-ups of gasping faces whenever Takumi takes a corner
faster than anyone ever thought possible(!!), ridiculous training scenarios, last minute level-ups, and mid-race epiphanies.

Yup, this adheres to the Shonen fighting template pretty
closely - - just replace karate or kamehamehas with drifting, cornering, and
riding that slipstream! If that doesn’t appeal to you, then you’re better off
just giving INITIAL D a skip because there are no surprises here.

Actually, let's be honest. We’re anime
fans/nerds/otaku/weirdos and that means that the tropes of these kind of genres
often appeal to us. If you like the usual Shonen bullshit (as we do) then
you’ll likely love INITIAL D, even if you don’t care at all about cars. If
you’re a big nerd for the specifics of illegal mountain racing, well... then
you’re gonna go bananas for this shit, man.

It’s certainly worth mentioning that INITIAL D is often
brutally ugly. For whatever reason (probably budget), the animators chose to
computer render all of the cars, and clearly not with a ton of money. The result
is a lot of the races look like PS1 cutscenes. The character designs are also
quite odd, with a lot of wide-set eyes and weird fish-lips. Yes, there
are some barriers to entry, but these shortcomings are surprisingly easy to come to terms with, and actually sort of add to the charm of this stupid,
lovable show.

(Bonus points for the hilarious, happy-hardcore soundtrack and
Japanese rap-pop intro and outro music. Wonderfully cringe-worthy).

We can’t believe something could ever unseat the D, but
REDLINE is a modern classic of testosterone-fueled anime madness. It's got non-stop thrills, explosions, animation sharp enough to slice your corneas, and
all the fast-racing madness you could ever hope for.

REDLINE is not subtle. This is about fueling the base
instinct for speed, fun and frenzy. This shit was born over-the-top, and it keeps
climbing from there.

We love the attitude of REDLINE, completely without
pretension and absolutely self-aware. The setting of much of the film is on or
around the planet “Roboworld” and the main antagonist is named “Funky Boy” to
give you some idea of what level of craziness is at play here. There’s some amount of
winking and self-reference, but the creators seem totally invested and in love
with what they’re doing.

The film is directed by Takeshi Koike, a name you may not
recognize, but whose work will probably be familiar to you. He’s directed a
bunch of great shorts for THE ANIMATRIX, and AFRO SAMURAI. He
also worked on a ton of TOP 5 favorites like NINJA SCROLL, WICKED CITY,
MEMORIES, and SAMURAI CHAMPLOO (the opening, anyway). Basically, any time a show
needs some beautiful, high-contrast animation or bangin’ silhouettes, they call
up this guy to get the job done.

If you’re at all interested in cars, racing, action,
ridiculous gonzo sci-fi, or animation at all, REDLINE is for you. If you don’t
like any of those things, then why are you still reading this list?

So there they are, five of the very best in racing, driving,
drifting, and chasing!

As always, I’m sure many of you have some choice
opinions about what has been omitted or the legitimacy of what we’ve chosen to
include. Well, let us know about it in the comments section below. I’m sure
that will make you feel better.

It’s certainly worth mentioning that INITIAL D is often brutally ugly. For whatever reason (probably budget), the animators chose to computer render all of the cars, and clearly not with a ton of money.

I thought you were going to mention the regular character animation. The car races do look bad judged against quality, but they're easily the best looking parts of the show. I think that's where the bulk of the budget for the series actually went. There is one season (I think like 4th) where the character look a bit more modern (kinda how Attack on Titan looks) but they drop the non-car animation down to an even lower level than it was before.

Man I am sooo, sooo glad that Redline came in at number one. It is criminally underrated and under seen.

Dig Deeper into Initial D

Initial D is an ongoing manga by Shuichi Shigeno. First published in 1995, the series was adapted for television in 1998 and spanned three seasons with a movie filling in the events in between the second and fourth seasons. The last season finished airing in 2006.